164. Venting Frustration (1)
"And... the important part starts now."
"What is it?"
"During the process of kidnapping Elenoa, two escort knights sacrificed themselves protecting her. I actually encountered the ones who fought those knights at the time."
"...Explain in detail."
Abros's expression hardened as he leaned in to listen carefully to Eunhyeon.
These were the people who had killed two knights from his own house—no way he could just let that slide.
"There were more than twenty of them, and I had to kill about five just to escape."
"Were they strong enough to overwhelm even you?"
"No. Dealing with them wasn't hard at all, but her condition was unstable, so I prioritized getting her out of there."
"I see."
Abros nodded, deeming it a sound judgment.
He had no intention of criticizing the decision to put his daughter's safety first.
"They called themselves the 'Hounds.'"
"Hounds, huh..."
"Their leader introduced himself as 'Baron.'"
"I'll look into it immediately."
"And Ashton..."
Eunhyeon paused for a moment, gauging Abros's reaction.
"...It's fine. Speak."
"Ashton told me he had a devil backing him."
"...A devil?"
"Yes."
It was late at night, sure, but this was an incident that happened right in the middle of a capital street.
"I don't think this is something Ashton could pull off on his own. What do you all think?"
"You mean..."
"There's someone behind it. Stirring up a mudslinging fight between noble factions in the Pernias Kingdom to sow chaos."
Whether it was a real devil or just some human claiming to be one.
"A guy like you wouldn't say that without solid reasoning, right?"
Abros and Alex knew Eunhyeon well enough to know he wouldn't spout baseless nonsense.
That's why they didn't dismiss it as crazy talk.
"First off, ignoring the skill of the guys who killed Elenoa's escort knights—doesn't it strike you as too suspicious that no one in the capital heard the commotion of a fierce swordfight right in the middle of the street, even at night? When they were found, the two knights' headless bodies were just left there in plain sight on the road."
"Hmm."
"I don't think Ashton could hire people capable of silencing sounds and killing two knights from a duke's house—people we'd consider high-level."
Even if he did hire such skilled individuals, the cost alone would be astronomical.
Ashton and Bark might have different circumstances, but they were both like abandoned duck eggs on the Nakdong River—cut off from their parents' influence.
Could they even scrape together that kind of money? Eunhyeon doubted it; realistically, it seemed impossible.
"Second, the teleport that kidnapped and transported Elenoa. As you know, Your Grace, the distance from Fernin to Lindebalt Barony isn't something you cover in a day. Just like how I rescued her quickly and brought her here, the culprits likely have some means of instant travel."
"And that means is a teleport?"
"Yes. The hounds I fought appeared right in front of me via teleport while chasing the fleeing Ashton. They probably used the same to abduct Elenoa to Lindebalt."
"So someone roped Ashton and Bark into this to bring down my house... is that your guess?"
"That's my conjecture. Whether this 'devil' behind it is a real demon or some lunatic pretending to be one—we'll find out through Anies's interrogation. But..."
Thinking back to Marius Holton, Media's disciple necromancer from the Erenia Holy Kingdom, left a bad taste he couldn't shake.
"Anyway, that's all the info and guesses from my side. And about the bundle of platinum coins paid as a fine..."
"I know. Elenoa told me it was the platinum you handed over after restoring the holy sword—the leftovers. It was yours to begin with. You essentially saved my house and the people of the duchy. Let me thank you again."
Abros bowed his head slightly in genuine gratitude and goodwill—hardly the attitude of a superior to a subordinate.
Eunhyeon felt a bit awkward and gave a wry smile.
"Consider it a betrothal gift. And... how long have you known?"
"Alex was the one who noticed Elenoa's feelings first."
"...You?"
"Sadly, yeah. The way she looks at you sometimes—it's different from anything I've seen before."
Alex smirked as he replied.
Hearing the exact same thing Iliana had said, Eunhyeon covered his face with both hands and let out a small sigh.
"Someone once said the most fun things in the world are watching fights and hearing about other people's love lives."
This fucking shit?
Eunhyeon's eyebrow twitched.
He didn't like that Alex was throwing his own past line right back at him.
"Hey, this is about your sister."
"So? When's the wedding?"
Eunhyeon had braced himself for some criticism over taking the purity of a noble duke's daughter before marriage, but the two who doted on Elenoa were so welcoming it left him flustered.
"Don't worry too much about having relations before marriage. We've heard all about the situation from Elenoa... If anything, I'm grateful you protected my daughter in that moment."
"...Got it."
Eunhyeon nodded at Alex and Abros's responses.
"As for Ashton, detained at the temple... like I mentioned before, I'll handle the interrogation myself."
"Very well. He's no longer my son—not someone I can protect anymore. No more leeway or desire to shield him. ...Do as you wish."
"...Thank you for yielding him."
It was phrased as yielding, but it wasn't.
Abros's face swirled with anger, disappointment, resignation, contempt—a storm of emotions.
To him, this wasn't yielding; it was closer to escape.
Sensing that, Eunhyeon bowed politely in thanks.
"You know, you really have a talent for pissing people off. It's not a joke."
"What outta nowhere?"
As they headed to the temple's underground prison, Anies grumbled with a sulky expression.
Seeing Eunhyeon's confusion, she scowled harder.
"Even if the country's a mess right now, who the hell picks a fight with the queen right to her face like that? I've never talked shit to our pope like that, and when I heard from Riod how you handled it later... what a spectacle."
"Ah, yeah, I was pretty stressed. It's not like I wanted to let those bastards slide this long."
Eunhyeon gave a wry smile, replying to Anies who looked exasperated.
Ashton, who betrayed Elvin and kidnapped Erin for a one-sided assault.
The two Aiter students who tried to rape Erin.
Nobles embezzling national funds.
He could've dealt with them all if he wanted—but the fallout would be chaos in the kingdom.
Besides, as neither noble nor commoner here, Eunhyeon had no real authority or pretext to fix it.
So he'd left them be, not punishing their wrongs directly.
He was painting a long-term picture: waiting for Erin to grow, prove her worth to the kingdom, and decide their fates herself.
"Aigoo, one more stress-relief stunt and you'll topple the whole country. You've changed since crawling out of the grave, you know that?"
"Changed?"
"Back then, you never got deeply involved in political fights or problems. You'd just watch if someone died or got kidnapped. Unless we pushed you, you stayed completely hands-off."
Because that was your heroes' story.
In his past as an extra, his own will and actions didn't matter.
The old Eunhyeon wasn't the type to meddle directly in national affairs.
If needed, he'd scheme quietly from the shadows, never revealing himself—supporting heroes like Riod or Anies to shine upfront.
Team members might ask him to join solving a problem, but he'd never once requested anything from them.
Even if someone he'd bonded with asked for help, if it didn't aid the heroes' growth—including Riod's—he'd coldly refuse.
Now, was it right for that same man to step up directly for his own people?
"Coming forward like this now... does it seem weird?"
Eunhyeon smiled bitterly.
He, who'd always prioritized efficiency and utility—even discarding lives when needed—still felt resistance to acting emotionally for his precious ones, even with Verdandi's permission.
The guilt and sense of responsibility lingering in his heart pricked at the conscience forcibly overlaid by his divine apostle mission.
"What kinda moronic bullshit is that?"
Anies gave him a deadpan look at his pathetic expression.
Seeing a 15-year-old girl's face with the weariness of a world-weary adult was jarring, and Eunhyeon's eyes widened.
"Hey, ever heard 'blood is thicker than water'? Who's gonna bitch if you prioritize the people dearest to you? You the king? A noble? Got some duty to feed every random commoner?"
"No, but I..."
"I get it. 'God's will.' As a priestess myself, I kinda know the chains that come with it. Holy power makes you a priest—but it's a picky bitch."
The divine authority embedded in Eunhyeon's soul alongside his mission to twist the mortal world's doom and save it shared traits with priests' holy power: healing, embracing with warmth, salvation.
But holy power was also deeply contradictory.
"Trash like Harkan borrows God's power to stuff his own pockets, and the duke's house nearly collapsed shielding his screw-up son to the end. No law says you can't use God's power however you want, right?"
"Hey, that's..."
Eunhyeon frowned at the sensitive remark.
"I know. Blasphemy. But you're not using God's power for dumb shit like Harkan or that duke coddling his fuck-up kid. You're wielding it to protect and help your people, right? That's wrong how?"
"......"
"Show some flexibility, dumbass. You're too damn fair—to everyone. Even villains and yourself."
Even when he itched to rip apart the villains who'd screwed him over and fucked up the situation, if keeping them alive served a purpose, Eunhyeon always suppressed the urge, choosing reason and efficiency.
"I don't know your experiences or worries—can't understand 'em. Compared to your centuries, I've only lived about 40 years. But not every choice you've made so far was the perfect answer. If you think they were, why the hell you making that face now?"
"...Even if they weren't answers, there were moments I had to make those choices."
"Sure. That's true for rulers above the people—or anyone. But you take it too far. Not losing reason to emotional impulses is your strength, but bottling it up till your mental state's shredded? Bad for you and everyone watching. Before you died, do you know how much Iliana fretted over that side of you?"
"...No clue."
"At least now that you've decided not to live like before, sort out that angst quick. Dragging it out gonna make it better?"
"...Ouch, right in the bones."
Eunhyeon winced with a wry smile, hit by cold hard facts.
A 400-year-old getting life advice from a 40-something Anies in a girl's body felt bizarre.
"A guy with two girlfriends pulling that moronic face chokes me just watching. So for your people's sake at least, get your shit together."
Anies scowled, clearly hating his attitude.
Partly her own frustration, but mostly worry for the two women around him.
"Fuck, with that shitty mentality, you'll stress Iliana out forever—not to mention my successor Elenoa. I can't deal with Iliana venting to me 'cause of you, or watching my heir's mental state crumble. Why the hell should I clean up your messes?"
"O-okay."
"Fix your head quick or I'll yank every goddamn corn kernel outta your mouth. Got it?"
Anies kicked his leg, already annoyed.
Eunhyeon nodded with a wry smile at the one-sided warning.
Soon, the two reached the underground prison entrance.